MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 89 



" You'll find that very good, I expect," said Mr. Jawleyford, 

 passing the bottle to him ; " it's '20 wine — very rare wine to get 

 now — was a very rich fruity wine, and was a long time before 

 it came into drinking. Connoisseurs would give any money 

 for it." 



" It has still a good deal of body," observed Sponge, turning off 

 a glass and smacking his lips, at the same time holding the glass 

 up to the candle to see the oily mark it made on the side. 



" Good sound wine — good sound wine," said Mr. Jawleyford. 

 " Have plenty lighter, if you like." The light wine was made by 

 watering the strong. 



" Oh no, thank you," replied Mr. Sponge, " oh no, thank you. 

 I like good strong military port." 



" So do I," said Mr. Jawleyford, " so do I ; only unfortunately 

 it doesn't like me — am obliged to drink claret. When I was in 

 the Bumperkin yeomanry we drank nothing but port." And then 

 Jawleyford diverged into a long rambling dissertation on messes 

 and cavalry tactics, which nearly sent Mr. Sponge asleep. 



" Where did you say the hounds are to-morrow ? " at length 

 asked he, after Mr. Jawleyford had talked himself out. 



" To-morrow," repeated Mr. Jawleyford, thoughtfully, " to- 

 morrow — they don't hunt to-morrow — not one of their days — 

 next day. Scrambleford- green — Scrambleford-green — no, no, I'm 

 wrong — Dundleton Tower — Dundleton Tower." 



" How far is that from here ? " asked Mr. Sponge. 



" Oh, ten miles — say ten miles," replied Mr. Jawleyford. It 

 was sometimes ten, and sometimes fifteen, depending upon whether 

 Mr. Jawleyford wanted the party to go or not. These elastic 

 places, however, are common in all countries — to sight-seers as 

 well as to hunters. " Close by — close by," one day. " Oh ! a 

 lo-o-ng way from here," another. 



It is difficult, for parties who have nothing in common, to drive 

 a conversation, especially when each keeps jibbing to get upon a 

 private subject of his own. Jawleyford was all for sounding 

 Sponge as to where he came from, and the situation of his 

 property ; for as yet, it must be remembered, he knew nothing of 

 our friend, save what he had gleaned at Laverick Wells, where cer- 

 tainly all parties concurred in placing him high on the list of " desir- 

 ables," while Sponge wanted to talk about hunting, the meets of 

 the hounds, and hear what sort of a man Lord Scamperdale was. 

 So they kept playing at cross-purposes, without either getting 

 much out of the other. Jawleyford's intimacy with Lord Scam- 

 perdale seemed to have diminished with propinquity, for he now 

 no longer talked of him — " Scamperdale this, and Scamperdale 

 that — Scamperdale, with whom he could do anything he liked ; " 

 but he called him " My Lord Scamperdale," and spoke of him in a 



